Each year, music educators from across the state of North Carolina gather to hear outstanding choruses at the November NCMEA Conference. As you begin to prepare your choruses for school concerts, Music Performance Adjudication, and other special choral events, I encourage you to consider submitting an application for your choir to perform at the NCMEA Conference. Every director whose choir receives a Superior rating at MPA is invited to apply to audition. However, the application is open to all directors regardless of MPA ratings or attendance, and who are active, paid-up members of NCMEA. The concert takes place on Monday of the conference and is a joint concert with the high school section. The concert includes two middle school choirs and three high school choirs. Please follow the instructions on the Conference Performance Application form on this website. Teachers applying will need to complete the Google Form, which includes uploading their recording, by June 1st. Results will be given by July 1st, and chosen directors will have until July 15th to submit their school, ensemble, and director bios.
Feel free to contact me if I may be of assistance or if you have any questions about the application process or the conference performance schedule.
Tracy Finch
Performance Choirs Chair
Robert Waller, Cane Middle School:
“My students loved performing for NCMEA. They felt a great deal of pride. I felt honored to be selected to perform and represent the middle school section. There is a lot of pressure going into this, but the rewards are well worth it. My students felt like they accomplished a great deal. There are many great teachers in our section who should consider performing at conference. Everyone has different teaching situations, but with hard work everyone can do this.”
Dave Dobbins, Southeast Guilford Middle School:
“I have had the distinct pleasure and thrill of performing at the NCMEA In-Service Conference twice with choirs from different schools. Nervous, of course I was; worried, sure; insecure, oh, yeah! No matter how hard I tried to hide these feelings, my students could sense them and I believe it made them work harder to ‘get it right.’ Having worked so hard to get a quality product ready so early in the year made them all the more prepared for the rest of the year, too! Both times, my choirs ended up having the most productive winter and spring I could remember.”
Dena Adams, Northwest Guilford Middle School:
“Performing at conference is the single best performance opportunity for both the singers and their director if they are seasoned performers. The singers know they are performing for a knowledgeable audience and prepare like never before. Focus and concentration is highlighted and their ability to deliver musical applications skyrockets because they become highly motivated. There is no slow start as you begin the year with a clearly defined goal and dive in from day one. This experience, coming early in the year, sets a high standard for the remainder of the year. My group who performed at conference has continued to soar in their understanding of choral performance.”
Leigh Walters, Thomas Jefferson Middle School:
“In November 2007, my students had the distinct pleasure of performing at the NCMEA In-Service Convention. It was the performance that surpassed all other performances. To be auditioned and selected in itself was an honor. In my district, Chorus meets every other day for 45 minutes; therefore, my chorus had five weeks to prepare the music for this performance. My singers came to class eager to sing, motivated and focused. After the performance, I thought my students might relax their classroom performance expectations, but clearly I was wrong. They continued to sing more demanding music and became leaders in the classroom. Simply stated, ‘children will rise to meet your expectations.’ Performing for NCMEA was exhilarating, exciting and exhausting, but I would definitely perform again.”